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Esports from Wild West to Mainstream

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Esports from Wild West to Mainstream 26 June 2018 | 4:01AM EDT eSports From Wild West to Mainstream eSports are moving into the mainstream. The immense popularity of survival-based Christopher D. Merwin, CFA +1(212)357-9336 | games like Fortnite, growing prize pools for eSports tournaments, the rise of [email protected] Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC live-streaming, and improving infrastructure for pro leagues have all paved the way Masaru Sugiyama for eSports to reach nearly 300mn viewers by 2022, on par with NFL viewership +81(3)6437-4691 | [email protected] today. For game publishers, we believe eSports will not only help to increase Goldman Sachs Japan Co., Ltd. audience reach and engagement, but also drive direct revenue through established Piyush Mubayi +852-2978-1677 | [email protected] leagues. We see further tailwinds to the broader eSports ecosystem—including Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C. online video platforms, hardware manufacturers (core and peripheral), and chip Toshiya Hari +1(646)446-1759 | [email protected] makers—opportunities we outline in this report. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC Heath P. Terry, CFA +1(212)357-1849 | [email protected] Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC Alexander Duval +44(20)7552-2995 | [email protected] Goldman Sachs International Heather Bellini, CFA +1(212)357-7710 | [email protected] Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC Drew Borst +1(212)902-7906 | [email protected] Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC Lisa Yang +44(20)7552-3713 | [email protected] Goldman Sachs International Donald Lu, Ph.D. For the exclusive use of [email protected] +86(10)6627-3123 | [email protected] Beijing Gao Hua Securities Company Limited Garrett Clark +1(212)357-4481 | [email protected] Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC Charles Long +1(212)902-7494 | [email protected] Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC Wendy Chen +852-2978-2672 | [email protected] Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C. Yusuke Noguchi +81(3)6437-9894 | [email protected] Goldman Sachs Japan Co., Ltd. Jacqueline Morea +1(212)357-0695 | Goldman Sachs does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports. As a result, investors should be aware that the firm may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of this report. Investors should consider this report as only a single factor in making their investment decision. For Reg AC certification and other important disclosures, see the Disclosure Appendix, or go to www.gs.com/research/hedge.html . Analysts employed by non-US affiliates are not registered/qualified as research analysts with FINRA in the U.S. Goldman Sachs eSports Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 The Audience Opportunity 7 eSports Can Extend Franchise Life and Drive Audience & Engagement 9 League Infrastructure Will Create Opportunities for Direct Monetization 11 The Overwatch League Case Study 18 Fortnite and the “Moneymaker Effect” 22 A New Paradigm for Distribution 24 Asia is Leading the Way for eSports Globally 31 New Platforms for eSports 34 The Venture Landscape 39 Our Best Ideas for Investing in eSports 42 Disclosure Appendix 55 For the exclusive use of [email protected] 26 June 2018 2 Goldman Sachs eSports Executive Summary As defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, a sport is “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.” Under this definition, we believe eSports are as much of a sport as any other, and one that at the highest levels requires intense training and focus. Professional eSports teams train for up to 8 hours a day, have coaches, trainers, and nutritionists on staff, and players receive base salaries, just like any pro sports league. In the U.S., there are roughly 50 colleges that have varsity eSports teams, and eSports are under discussion for inclusion in the 2024 Paris Olympics, according to the BBC. To play a traditional sport, one typically needs access to an appropriate venue (field, court, etc.), and to be successful, it almost always helps to be big, fast, strong, or coordinated - or better yet some combination of all four. To play multiplayer video games, all that is necessary is the requisite hardware and an internet connection — and there is a community of millions of players online that are ready to play at any hour of the day. Also, to become successful at eSports, physical stature is not as important, in our view, as reaction time, focus, and strategic thinking. Therefore, we believe professional video game play can be appealing to a massive global audience of people who can watch and learn from pros and try to improve their own gameplay — something that we believe isn’t as possible for most traditional sports fans. And because the distribution of eSports are nearly 100% digital, fans can stream eSports content for free anywhere in the world, unencumbered by traditional TV rights that for most Western-based pro sports leagues have been segmented by geography and are often lumped into an expensive cable subscription. In short, we believe eSports are at the cross-section of some powerful trends: social connections being formed and maintained online, digital consumption of video, and global growth in the gaming audience. Looking ahead, we see numerous public and private investment opportunities that we believe will benefit from the structural growth For the exclusive use of [email protected] of eSports, both in terms of audience and, increasingly, monetization, as the requisite infrastructure is built to transition eSports from the “Wild West” of sports to a full-fledged professional sport. We summarize our key takeaways below. The audience opportunity. In 2018, we estimate the global monthly audience for eSports will reach 167mn people, based on data from NewZoo, larger than that of Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League. We estimate the total online population is over 3.65bn people globally, to go along with 2.2bn gamers, but eSports viewers represent just 5% of the online population TAM, which suggests that there should be plenty more runway for audience growth. By 2022, we estimate the eSports audience will reach 276mn, similar in size to the NFL today. Due to the growing popularity of survival-based games Fortnite and PUBG, we believe eSports viewership is moving more into the mainstream, which should support a 14% audience growth CAGR for the next 5 years. Recently, Epic games announced that it would set aside $100mn in prize pool for the first year of Fortnite eSports tournaments, nearly the size of the entire eSports prize pool in 2017. With growing incentives for 26 June 2018 3 Goldman Sachs eSports eSports players, and by extension more interest from the casual observer, we believe the eSports audience should continue to outpace the growth of traditional leagues. League infrastructure is creating meaningful opportunities for direct monetization. In the early years of eSports, there was little organization or infrastructure, and as a result, the massive audience of eSports did not translate into meaningful revenue streams for players, team owners, etc. But in 2017, Riot Games created the North American and EU League of Legends leagues, while in January of 2018, Blizzard launched the Overwatch League. We believe these leagues created the requisite infrastructure that will allow eSports to finally start to close the monetization gap relative to other established sports leagues. In 2017, we estimate eSports generated $655mn in annual revenue, including 38% from sponsorships, 14% from media rights, and 9% from ticket revenue. But by 2022, we expect media rights to reach 40% of total eSports revenue - comparable to the average of the four major Western sports leagues today - as massive audiences and associated revenue for established online video platforms like Twitch, YouTube, Douyu, and Huya will be able to support a growing pool of media rights fees paid to top publishers for their content. As media rights and sponsorship continue to grow, along with the formalization of pro sports leagues, we expect total eSports monetization will reach $3bn by 2022. Exhibit 1: Our key estimates eSports audience, prize pool, and monetization (2018E-2022E) 2018E 2019E 2020E 2021E 2022E Audience (mns) 167 194 225 250 276 y/y growth % 17% 16% 16% 12% 10% Prize Pool ($ mns) $170 $256 $307 $359 $413 y/y growth % 50% 50% 20% 17% 15% Monetization ($ mns) $869 $1,184 $1,592 $2,173 $2,963 y/y growth % 33% 36% 35% 37% 36% For the exclusive use of [email protected] Source: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research, Newzoo Fortnite and the “Moneymaker” effect. In 2003, Chris Moneymaker, an accountant and amateur poker player from Tennessee, outlasted a field of 839 players to win the World Series of Poker. His victory sparked a meteoric rise in the popularity of online and tournament poker. Just 3 years after his victory, the first place prize money for the WSOP increased to $12mn in 2006, up from $2.5mn in 2003. The relevant lesson here is that Moneymaker elevated poker’s profile as a sport to the mainstream — and we believe Fortnite is doing the same thing for video games and eSports. The Fortnite phenomenon has been well-documented, but by way of background, the title has reached more than 125mn players on across console, PC, and mobile. According to SuperData, as of April the game generated $296mn of revenue across platforms, an annual run rate of $3.6bn — more annual revenue than any major console or PC game today. As Fortnite brings more new gamers to the ecosystem, particularly those in younger demographics, we believe the eSports audience - and associated revenue streams - will benefit over time.
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